ESP; ESP Approach not Product

ESP APPROACH NOT PRODUCT

The survey above shows that in its relatively brief history there have been several major shifts in the development of ESP both in theory and practice. However, we have tried to show that, in spite of their differences, the successive stages have all concentrated on the linguistic aspect of ESP : they are all essentially language – centred approaches. In later chapters we shall look in greater detail at how this has shaped the way in which people see ESP. for now let us return to the question posed at the beginning of this section: “what is ESP?’ to answer this question fully, we need first of all to establish a context which will help us to see how ESP at the present time relates to the rest of ELT. What exactly is the status of the citizens of ESP and its satellite settlements in relation to the general word of ESL?

In the time – honoured manner of linguistics, we shall represent the relationship in the form of a tree.

The tree represents some of the common divisions that are made in ELT. The topmost branches of the tree show the level at which individual ESP courses occur. The branches just below this level indicate that these may conveniently be divided into two main types of ESP differentiated according to whether the learner requires English for academic study ( EAP : English for academic purposes) or for word/ training (EOP / EVP / VESL : English for occupational purposes / English for vocational purposes / vocational English as a second language). This is, of course, not a clear- cut distinction: people can word and study simultaneously; it is also likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the student takes up, or returns to, a job.

At the next level down it is possible to distinguish ESP courses by the general nature of the learner’s specialism. Three large categories are usually identified here: EST (English for science and technology), EBE (English for business and economics) and ESS (English for the social sciences). This lash is not common, probably because it is not thought to differ significantly from more traditional humanities- based general English.

As we go down the tree, we can see that ESP is just one branch of EFL/ESL, which are themselves the main branches of English language teaching in general. ELT, in turn is one variety of the many possible kinds of language teaching.

But, of course, there is there is more to a tree that is visible above ground: a tree cannot survive without roots. The roots which nourish the tree of ELT are communication and learning.

The analogy of a tree can help us to get a bit closer to a definition of ESP not so much

a. ESP is not a matter of teaching ‘specialised varieties’ of English. The fact that language is used for a specific purpose does not imply that it is special form of the language, different in kind from other forms. Certainly, there are some features which can be identified as ‘typical’ of a particular context of use and which, therefore, the learner is more likely to meet in the target situation. But these differences should not be allowed to obscure the far larger area of common ground that underlies all English use, and indeed, all language use.

b. ESP is not just a matter of science words and grammar for scientists, hotel words and grammar for hotel staff and so on. When we look at a tree, we see the leaves and branches, but there is much more to the tree than just there- much of it hidden from view inside and beneath the tree. The leaves do not just hang in the air: they are supported by a complex underlying structure. In the same way there is much more to communication that just the surface features that we read and hear.  Between performance and competence, that is between what people actually do with the language and range of knowledge and abilities which enables them to do it (Hutchinson and waters, 1981).

c. ESP is not different in kind from any other form of language teaching, in that it should be based in the first instance on principles of effective and efficient learning. Though the content of learning may vary there is no reason to suppose that the processes of learning should be any different for the ESP learner that for the general English learner. There is, in other words, no such thing as an ESP classrooms, but could just as well have been used in the learning of any kind of English.

so what is ESP? having stressed the commonality of language and learning, how does ESP differ from other of ELT? To answer this,

ESP must be seen as an approach not as a product. ESP is not a particular kind of language or methodology, not does it consist of a particular type of teaching material. Understood properly, it is an approach to language learning   which is based on learner need. The foundation of all ESP is the simple question: why does this learner need to learn a foreign language? From this question will flow a whole host of further question, some of which will relate to learners will need to operate, some to the given learning context. But this whole analysis derives from an initial identified need on the part of learner to learn a language. ESP, then, is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learner.